Unexpected Heirs
by rockychristine
Summary: The Emperor is dead. But Thrawn and Isard are alive and competing for control of the Empire. Post-ROTJ AU. Thrawn, Isard, H/L, eventual L/M.
1. Chapter 1

_I can't enjoy myself when I failed at my mission._ Mara Jade had been wandering the corridors of the Imperial Palace, trying not to think about how Luke Skywalker and Dequc of Black Nebula both still lived. _Clearly, I've missed something. The Emperor wouldn't have given me a vacation for a botched mission. _

She found herself near Intelligence's headquarters within the Palace. Mara had little desire to see where Iceheart herself laired, as an invitation there usually led to unpleasant consequences. Ever since Iceheart had figured out that Mara was more than a simple court dancer, Mara had been attempting to avoid the Director of Intelligence.

Oddly enough, since Mara had returned from Tatooine and Svivren, she had heard little from or about Intelligence. News traveled on Imperial Centre, and something this important probably would have made its way to the most well-informed people in the government.

That very morning, she had received a rather succinct holomessage from Director Isard herself. _At your earliest convenience, you are to report to my office. I would speak with you regarding recent events._ She had filed the holo away, made a mental note to get to Intelligence, and do so later rather that sooner.

Mara turned away from Intelligence; should anyone of any importance find her, they would immediately send her straight to Isard's office. It was more urgently important to find out what the military people thought of Black Nebula- there had been many who saw them as a lesser version of Black Sun, though there was no official consensus.

Also, Mara was interested in Thrawn. As a newly promoted Grand Admiral, he would soon be given an assignment of some sort that would get him away from Imperial Centre, but before he left, Mara wanted to know a bit more about him.

She had been evading the people of Imperial High Command as much as possible; they were nothing but an inconvenience. Most of them had no business knowing what Mara was, and those who did were already aware of it. As Mara approached their offices, she rehearsed what she was going to say to anyone who inquired about her being more than a dancer, and perhaps aware of the chaos within Black Nebula.

A few people had even asked exactly what Mara had been doing during her apparently rather conspicuous absence. For the most part, she had been able to brush off the questions with a bit of fluff. Unfortunately, some of those who inquired were more than qualified to know the truth…

Of course, one of those people had to be Thrawn. Mara knew better than to trust the less-than-human Grand Admiral; though his promotion was rather informal and held little sway on Imperial Centre, those who knew him understood the reason for the promotion. Thrawn had been quietly asking about Mara's mission and why it had failed, and she had evaded him until he finally cornered her in some of the Imperial High Command offices.

"You've been rather difficult to find lately," he began with his usual cool detachment. "I've heard quite a few interesting reports about your recent whereabouts."

"Right now, I've just been running errands. You probably heard about recent events on Tatooine and Svivren, and since then, I've been on vacation." Mara tried her best I-don't-want-to-talk-to-you vibes, but Thrawn didn't get the hint. "If you want more information, talk to the Emperor."

"Quite an interesting assignment." Thrawn retained an air of detached interest. "Is there any particular reason this failed? I'm disinclined to think it was sheer negligence on your part."

"It's a long story." Mara evasively shrugged off Thrawn's questions; she had always suspected he was just looking for information to get her in trouble. "Some blend of fiendishly bad luck and circumstances beyond my control." She glanced at her wrist chronometer. "If you don't mind, I do have an appointment."

Thrawn smiled condescendingly. "Stop trying to avoid everything. Even the Emperor himself has been complaining about your conspicuous absences. He would appreciate your being at the feast tonight, being sociable, and not doing anything disgraceful."

Mara resisted rolling her eyes or sighing. 'Appreciate' was the Emperor's way of giving an order to those whom he liked, and for the time being, Mara was still in that category. "I'll see you later tonight, then." She turned and left, wandering through the corridors of the Imperial Palace and ignoring the various stares she was probably collecting.

So Thrawn knew all about that mission. He also knew that Mara was an Emperor's Hand, and therefore, probably felt threatened by her very presence. It was a rather standard kind of paranoia, similar to what Tarkin had expressed shortly before his death. _You're just here to cause us all trouble. I don't care what the Emperor thinks of you; you're more trouble than you'll ever be worth._

She resisted the temptation to kick the nearest air vent. Clearly, the Emperor was very displeased- he hadn't bothered to convey personally to her his wishes about the feast. He was probably planning some kind of grandiose punishment, which Mara forced herself not to think about. It wasn't worth getting so worked up just yet.

Thrawn watched Mara walk away, rather intrigued. She had failed at assassinating Dequc, which she was obviously aware of. It should have been a rather straightforward mission, but somewhere along the lines, something had gone wrong. No matter- Mara would answer for it.

However, a new complication had come up. Thrawn had ignored the holomessage from Director Isard as long as was polite, though such a direct order was difficult to refuse. _Come to my office. We must discuss the matter of Mara Jade; I have good reason to believe she is not quite what she appears._

_Of course not,_ Thrawn thought darkly. He had been informed of the existence of the Emperors' Hands as soon as he had received the secret promotion to Grand Admiral, and he intended to make the best possible use of Mara's unique abilities. She was a very valuable resource, and would prove very useful if Isard made a bid for power; considering Iceheart's recent behavior, that seemed like a distinct possibility.

A familiar voice cut through Thrawn's thoughts. "Admiral Thrawn. A pleasure to see you here." Ysanne Isard caught up to Thrawn in the busy corridors of Imperial High Command. "I've been missing you quite a bit lately."

"Yes." Thrawn didn't trust Isard at all and made no attempt to hide it. "I've been rather busy in the Unknown Regions lately."

"That's your polite way of saying that you're busy and would rather not deal with me now. Tell me where you are headed; I've heard that you are to leave Imperial Center once again."

Thrawn thought over his words carefully. Isard had a tendency to twist things the wrong way, and the mission was quite highly classified anyways. "The Emperor would like me to accompany him to witness some testing of a new weapon."

Isard lowered her voice and glanced around. Her personal bodyguards quickly became deeply interested in the architecture of High Command, while the minor officers running around avoided them. Only when she was satisfied that no one was listening did she continue. "So you are to be at Endor." She smiled a bit. "I've lately heard a few too many rumors of a potential Rebel assault on this new weapon; be very careful lest you have… ambitions."

"You aren't without those ambitions," Thrawn accused. Ever since he had first met Isard, it was obvious that she would love to rule the Empire herself, and would do almost anything to put herself in command.

Of course, she laughed off his suspicions. "Be careful at Endor. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your career, would you?" She turned and headed towards the turbolifts that led to her office, and Thrawn followed- he did owe her a visit, after all.

Thrawn didn't respond. As they entered the turbolift, he mulled over Isard's veiled threat. It was perfectly understood that she frequently threatened those whom she found a threat to her ambitions, though he hadn't expected her to take action against someone of his rank. "Are you sure that would be a wise thing to do?" he finally replied.

Isard's eyes narrowed. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"You do realize that the Emperor would be most displeased at hearing of what you imply." Thrawn kept his tone light, but allowed his own veiled threat to show through.

"The Emperor trusts me." Isard smirked, completely confident in her position. "Should I go to him with evidence of your complicity with the Rebellion, he would be very quick to acquiesce to whatever I feel would appropriately handle the situation."

Thrawn nodded. "I am not without influence of my own. A mutual acquaintance of ours mentioned your dislike of her, as you fear she will be turned on you at the first sign of your disloyalty."

"Ah, so you are also aware of the existence of Miss Jade." Isard's eyes narrowed. "I have excellent reason to believe she is a great threat to the Emperor."

"If you are so well aware of her existence, you'd never believe that unless you feared she would be used against you." Thrawn sighed. "Clearly, Madame Director, you are scrambling to protect your own position in the face of a rather grave threat. Have you underestimated the Rebellion, or have you done something sufficiently treasonous to fear for your future?"

"Shut up if you know what's good for you," Isard hissed, unable to conceal her fury. As the turbolift reached the level of her office, she stormed out and tossed a last threat at Thrawn. "Watch out or you'll be the next accused traitor."


	2. Chapter 2

_Death Star._ There weren't that many public records about it, and most were too soaked in propaganda to be of any use. A bit of slicing would uncover the classified records, even though Mara wasn't sure she was supposed to be aware of this.

She hadn't been told of the new Death Star's existence, let alone that Thrawn was going to be there personally to supervise some testing. There was clearly an ulterior motive in all of this- perhaps the Emperor was more displeased than he'd let on, and was planning some kind of punishment for Mara.

Something in the Intelligence report caught Mara's eye. Vader and the Emperor were supposed to be on the Death Star as well, overseeing what was listed as a test… and Thrawn and another two Grand Admirals were also going to be there.

This sounded like more than a test. Was the Rebellion aware of this? The Bothan spy network had probably picked up on the existence of a new Death Star; the things were damn hard to hide for a long time. However, if they knew where it was located, or worse yet who would be on it, there was room for serious trouble.

Mara committed the reports to memory; it would prove quite important in the future. In the meantime, she had to speak with Isard and find out what the Director of Intelligence wanted- and what she knew about Thrawn and the Death Star.

For several hours, Mara paced through the secret passages of the Palace, trying to convince herself that it was a good idea to speak to Isard. The holo had left no room for argument- though it was disguised as a polite invitation, Mara was expected in Iceheart's office and quickly, before she was dragged there.

Finally, she emerged from the passages into the main corridor, using a bit of a Force nudge to encourage any passers-by to ignore her. The door to Isard's office waited at the end of the hall, dark and imposing at the end of an already threatening hall.

Mara nervously knocked at the door, and to her great surprise, it swung open. "Madame Director? I am at your service."

"Tell me what you know of Thrawn." Isard stood staring out the window, deep in thought. "What is he presently doing?"

Mara was a bit taken aback by the question. "I'm sorry. I was under the impression that you were the one with the best intelligence resources. I don't see how a dancer can help you?" As she entered the office, the door swung shut behind her- sealing her in what she could only think of as the rancor's nest.

"You're no dancer. You're a specialized agent under the Emperor himself, and you know far more about Thrawn than you're willing to let me know."

"How did you find out about me?" Mara began stalling. _You were never supposed to know of me,_ she thought. _Unless I was to be turned on you and the Emperor conveniently forgot to tell me._

Isard turned around to stare at Mara. "Stop it. I'd rather not go through the trouble of convincing you to cooperate."

"The Emperor wouldn't appreciate hearing that," Mara bluffed.

"He fears betrayal more at my hands than at yours." Isard clearly took this personally. "I believe your appropriate title is the Emperor's Hand?"

"Fine, you found me." Mara decided to play defiant and see how long she could make it last. "How do you know I know anything about Thrawn that you haven't found out already?"

"You are privy to sources of information that even I am unaware of. You'd care to share, of course."

Mara strongly considered leaving Isard's office without providing any answers. Whatever Mara said, it would be twisted and used against her; there was very little information about Thrawn outside of the rather scanty official records. "He's a quite brilliant nonhuman military officer."

Isard shook her head. "What exactly does the Emperor have planned for him?"

"You're aware that he is to be made a Grand Admiral?"

"You are aware that his promotion is not formal, though it has been in place for quite some time already?"

Mara sighed. Isard was indeed as well informed as a Director of Intelligence should have been. "It seems that such things are common knowledge to those privy to the Emperor's secrets."

"Tell me what Thrawn is presently doing," Isard insisted again.

For a long moment, Mara thought. She could be honest and probably assure her own eventual undoing, or lie and make her end more immediate. "It's highly classified and has to do with a new weapon."

"Then he will be on the new Death Star." Isard's eyes lit up a bit.

"I don't know whether he's going to be on it or what, but he's going to be with the Death Star for its upcoming testing." Mara winced mentally, wondering if she was even supposed to have found that out.

"Good," Isard responded. "And you shall be staying here. I'd rather you not be anywhere around him."

"Do you really believe I'm that much of a threat?" Mara asked ingenuously.

"Yes. Considering that you're fully aware of Thrawn's circumstances, and from what the Emperor has told me of you, if you'd care to stay on Imperial Centre any longer, you'll do as I say."

Mara nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat. She didn't want to deal with Iceheart, whatever she was up to. "If there's nothing else…"

"Nothing." Isard turned to the datapad and folders on her desk. "Get out."

Quickly, Mara left Isard's office and made her way back to her own quarters. Something was going on in the Empire. It had to do with the new Death Star and Thrawn's upcoming promotion.

Perhaps it was indeed a good idea to go to the feast and find out.

Mara readjusted the combs holding up her red hair, reapplied lipstick, and glanced at her reflection in one of the mirrors lining the corridor. She had been in and out of the party all night, socializing as necessary and trying to catch a bit of the gossip.

It was quite interesting. Isard was now perfectly civil to everyone, including Mara. Admiral Thrawn seemed to be quite socially accepted despite his not being entirely human. Everyone was pretending to be perfectly civilized and friendly.

As Mara made her way back to the guests, Thrawn rather suddenly appeared at her side. "Miss Jade, I am sure you are aware that your presence is requested at tonight's ceremony."

For a moment, Mara was confused. She was unaware of a ceremony, unless this was about Thrawn's formal promotion to Grand Admiral. "I'm afraid I don't follow you," she replied, hoping that no one was listening to them.

Thrawn nodded slightly. "Really, you do an excellent job of covering your tracks. I was not aware that you had access to the archives."

Mara didn't respond. She didn't quite know how to answer- she definitely should not have found out about the Death Star.

"It's quite a security breach. I might speak with the Emperor about this before some other clever albeit unauthorized person finds out about our plans." Thrawn glanced briefly at his wrist chrono. "Keep yourself busy for another hour before the ceremony." He vanished again into the crown.

Mara continued to mingle and socialize, all the while keeping an eye on Thrawn. The rest of the Admirals and Grand Admirals who were presented were being altogether too cold and formal, clearly aware that something was going on. Mara wondered how many of them actually knew about the upcoming promotion…

Throughout the whole party, she was acutely aware that Isard had been watching her.

Near the end of the night, Mara quietly excused herself and made her way to the Emperor's throne room through the maze of passageways and back hallways. She finally ended up in one of the side alcoves of the throne room, able to see most of the room without being overly obvious.

Thrawn emerged from the turbolift a moment later, seemingly unaware that Mara was present. He walked to the edge of the throne dais, but did not bow to the Emperor.

"Admiral Thrawn," the Emperor hissed. "You are now formally promoted to the office of Grand Admiral."

Thrawn barely nodded. "It's to be known, then."

"Perhaps. If happenings at Endor are not to my satisfaction, you may find yourself in the unknown regions once more."

Mara shivered a bit at the overt threat. Thrawn was indeed quite a tactical genius, and sending him off on useless missions would be a waste of talent.

"Recall that the success of our new Death Star will be the end of the Rebellion," the Emperor continued.

"Do you really think it's wise to be there yourself?" Thrawn asked nonchalantly. "I would presume that the Rebellion is aware of this and will take all possible measures to destroy you."

"I have forseen this, yes." Palpatine seemed a bit distracted. "The son of Skywalker will come to me, and join us…"

Thrawn politely glanced away, looking thoughtful. This was a new development- a son of Skywalker? There were clearly more motives in this Endor campaign than just destroying the Rebellion.

"Stop the Rebellion," the Emperor ordered Thrawn. "You'll not be on the Death Star; keep your forces ready to annihilate the Rebels should they attempt to engage either the _Executor_ or the Death Star. We will return to Imperial Centre with one fewer threat!"

Thrawn politely nodded and returned to the turbolift. From the corner, Mara let out a sigh of relief- Thrawn was now officially a Grand Admiral, they were going to destroy the Rebels once and for all, and Isard so far hadn't tried to kill her.

"So, my Hand, you find this quite… interesting." The Emperor was aware of Mara's presence, as always.

Mara automatically knelt. "My Master, I believe Director Isard is plotting against us." She hadn't meant to mention it, but it was clear that something was wrong. "I fear she will take advantage of your absence for her own benefit."

Palpatine nodded coolly. "It is all as I have foreseen, my young Hand."

Mara shivered, aware that something was not quite right.

Isard found herself back in her office after the party, with more work to do. Mara had avoided her quite well, probably for fear of causing a scene. The Emperor's Hand was being her usual tricky self, and was probably fully aware of whatever Thrawn was up to.

Thrawn posed an entirely different problem. If he was kept in the Unknown Regions and busy, he was no threat at all and Isard was glad to work with him. However, as soon as he was allowed in the rest of the galaxy, he would likely find trouble to get into. Perhaps even something that would get Isard in trouble as well.

She glanced at a recent message on her datapad. _Keep a close eye on Mara. I do not trust her, and I am quite aware of how well you share my sentiment. Should upcoming events not proceed as planned (which is far from out of the question) we may need her… dealt with._ Thrawn hadn't signed his message at all, but his style was distinctive enough.

"So you agree?" Isard muttered to herself as she settled down at her desk. "If you know anything about the Rebels and Endor, I'd appreciate your telling me…" She began to draft a message to one of her operatives. Should anything "not proceed as planned" at Endor, she wanted to be sure that Thrawn would not make it out alive.


End file.
